Kiva

Today, we spent the morning watching videos informing us more about KIVA. Then, we split up into two groups of five and prepared for our mock presentation. In my group, Stephan worked on the introduction, I presented KIVA's website, Matt addressed some topics from the business perspective, Luchi spoke about the history of KIVA, and Brian edited the powerpoint. Giving the presentation in front of our service learning group made me more comfortable about speaking in front of an actual business audience starting next month.

On the first day of Service Learning, we spent the majority of the day learning about Kiva. It is important that we really understand how the organization works so that we can answer any questions asked of us in our presentation. While the majority of the Kiva structure makes sense, since it is really easy to pay via their website. However, the one confusing components is the field partner. The field partner is the actual organization in a country that makes the loan to the entrepreneur, we are simply funding the loan. It is important that we are able to explain this in our presentations.              We also got our different speaking parts for the presentation and practiced them. This was more difficult because the speeches are very dense with facts, and it is hard to give the speech without looking down at the script. We then gave a practice presentation and it was very helpful to see different things that can go wrong. Overall, th...

We were all thinking about ideas to publicize KIVA and where to present. A lot of suggestions came out; however, Mr. Anderson surprised me with the most shocking story. Previous KIVA service learning groups would go to public places like the beach or grocery stores, yet people would ignore the presentations. People did not give a chance for them to actually talk about KIVA because they thought it was an advertisement for something. On the last service learning day, a group went to a company to talk about KIVA. Contrary to my thoughts, talking to adults in a professional setting or business setting was more effective than public areas. The workers were amazed from the students' presentation and their knowledge of business/entrepreneurship. I thought adults would ignore students' opinions, but the formal presentation actually convinced them to the point where an employee of a company that a previous group presented to still goes on KIVA. After this story, I was excited to start ...

Today, we further explored the intricacies of KIVA and its functions in the international community. I felt a little closer to each entrepreneur as I read their individual stories on the KIVA website. Even though I couldn't meet Qusai in person or live life alongside him to understand his circumstances, his story gives me a glimpse of their situation and make me more aware of the world around us as an individual. Even though the concept of loans are not revolutionary, KIVA allows for change by culminating a network of lenders and borrowers on a single platform. I feel like I am able to present this idea and program strongly because I am a believer of this concept-- the idea of empowering others to find success on their own, rather than pulling them up to it through massive donations or subsidies.  I enjoyed today because as we started our presentations, we soon began to see areas in which we could improve, whether it be oral skills or organization. I am happy to know that I a...

       Overall the first day of service learning was a busy but productive day. As a project that constantly presents on a monthly basis, this day was dedicated to learning the material and practicing the presentations. What initially seemed overwhelming quickly became much more manageable through repetition in practice. It was only through our first time through did I finally realize the impact our presentations could have for the less fortunate entrepreneurs. I really enjoyed today because it provided me with motivation to have a great service learning year. The work was interesting, and I enjoyed getting ready for the rest of the year. In our presentations, we heavily rely on one another to provide a clear and direct presentation. Thus, I felt that we worked very well as a group to share ideas, and provide critiques on how we could improve in our parts. For some of us, public speaking does not come naturally, and I felt that we provided the encouragement needed...

Today was the first full length service learning day for Kiva. Today, we practiced our presentations and brainstormed ideas for how to raise more awareness about the organization. During our first presentation, I got lost while reading my part of the script and had to take a long pause to recover. It was quite embarrassing for me because I know it would have been very unprofessional if I made this mistake in a formal setting. However, my mistake made me feel determined to be much more prepared for when we do actually present to businesses. I enjoyed practicing presenting because I got to better my understanding of the company and will be more capable of presenting in the future. Today, I was able to develop my public speaking skills and my creativity skills from brainstorming ideas. In addition, we watched a few more videos about Kiva that documented real people who received loans from Kiva. This made the community I am involved in feel much more “real” and I began to feel more connec...

KIVA is an international non-profit organization that facilitates loans between lenders and borrowers. It supports community-wide projects as we help entrepreneurs around world to grow and establish their businesses. Entrepreneurs create wealth and provide jobs, utilizing land, labor, and capital in the most efficient way possible. As developing countries increase the number of entrepreneurs, the poverty in those countries will naturally decrease as the market is stimulated and money flow is increased. Every place has entrepreneurs; however, not all entrepreneurs have the same environment and resources. KIVA gives the resources to those who cannot acquire them due to their environmental restrictions and other problems. Here is how KIVA works. We go to KIVA.org and create an account. We find an entrepreneur and read their story. We loan them as little as $25 through Paypal. We wait and get updates from the business and eventually get the money back to repeat the process. Wonderful rig...

Today, our service learning group divided into two groups and presented powerpoint materials as practice. Mr. Anderson gave us tips on how to present and what exact contents to present. As a group,we decided who is doing what part and practiced accordingly. Since Kiva is an organization that allows entrepreneurs to provide micro loans to other third world entrepreneurs, our goal is to promote different businesses to loan out money on the Kiva website. Within our sphere of influence, we will conduct different companies and schedule times with them to make presentations and spread the word of Kiva. We hope that through our efforts, we will encourage more people in businesses to loan money on the website of Kiva.  To overcome challenges, we discussed specific weaknesses of our presentation and established some important guidelines when presenting to companies for real. We also talked about marketing strategies such as posting on social medias, connecting with famous people, and usi...

Today, I worked with my team on presenting Kiva. It was a unique experience because it strengthened our knowledge of Kiva and what its stands for. I enjoyed collaboration with other peers and splitting up the presentation. By sharing ideas and gaining new insights into Kiva, I feel more connected to the community. I was able to listen to other people's ideas and form my own opinions based on specific topics. By presenting to businesses and working together, I know that our group can make a change in the community by encouraging loans to third world entrepreneurs. I worked on my collaboration and presentation skills today. Throughout the day, I was initially confused about what Kiva is all about. As the day progresses, I became more aware of the goal of Kiva and my role as an advocate of it. I listened actively to everyone present and learned a lot from each person's strengths. I tried my best to present my part well and improved my presentation skill. I learned that I am someo...